Ellen DeGeneres Is Distant Cousin to Kate Middleton

February 11, 2011 08:42:11 GMT

The American host is related to Prince William's soon-to-be wife via a man named Sir Thomas Fairfax and his wife Agnes Gascoigne.

U.S. comedienne-turned-TV personality Ellen DeGeneres is celebrating after learning she's a distant cousin of royal bride-to-be Kate Middleton. The funnywoman has been joking about getting an invite to England's big wedding in April - and now it appears she has a right to be there.

DeGeneres decided to ask the New England Historic Genealogical Society to poke into her roots to see if she has any royal links - and she was stunned to discover she's the 15th cousin of Britain's future queen. A letter from the ancestry hunters reads, "Our trusty genealogists have been at work on Kate Middleton's genealogy, with the big Royal wedding coming up."

"As we were doing the research, we discovered that you are related to Kate via a man named Sir Thomas Fairfax and his wife Agnes Gascoigne. You are distant cousins."